Underbelly
by Stabson
Summary: It shouldn't have mattered. But it did. It mattered a lot. He thought about her every day, he worried about her. He loved her more than he thought was possible. Set during Underbelly, requested by lukenpeyton4ever. E/O, obviously :


A/N: A request by lukenpeyton4ever. Thanks for this idea. Enjoy.

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When Olivia walked into the bullpen of SVU for the first time since she got back from her undercover operation in Oregon, her eyes immediately went to the conjoined desks that she and Elliot had shared. She was slightly disappointed when she saw that both of the chairs were empty. She couldn't wait to see her partner, her best friend, again. The six weeks that she was away had seemed like eternity without him.

She moved to his desk, and sat down, smiling softly when she saw the pictures that were there. There was one of him and the twins when they were babies, and the frame that had held a picture of him and Kathy before the divorce was replaced by the two of them, smiling and laughing.

She picked it up, and ran her thumb lightly over his face, her heart warming. She loved him. She loved him so much. But she was sure that he just wanted to be friends, if he wanted to be anything after she took off without saying goodbye. She knew from her stay in computer crimes how much he hated when she did that.

"Liv?"

She spun around in the chair, and saw him, standing a few feet away. "El."

His breathing caught in his chest when he saw her sitting there, in his seat. She was back. She was… she was home. He wanted to pull her close and hold her in his arms forever; he had missed her so much. But something kept him rooted to the spot.

Olivia stood, and suddenly, she was doing what he wanted to. Hugging him tightly. He returned the embrace just as enthusiastically, "You're back."

"I'm back," she repeated into his shoulder, squeezing her arms around him.

He released her slowly, and stepped back, "When?"

"Last Saturday," she answered softly, and she could tell by the look in his eyes that was a little bit insulted. They were best friends, and it took her a week to come and see him?

"I know, I should have come sooner," she said.

He shook his head, "Doesn't matter."

It shouldn't have mattered. She was just his partner; she didn't have to report back to him. She could do what she wanted. But it did matter to him. It mattered a lot. He thought about her every day, he worried about her. He wasn't there to protect her like he wanted to. Like he was supposed to. And he missed her. He missed her a lot. He loved her, but he knew that she didn't love him back. She just wanted to be his friend.

She knew that the statement was a lie. She knew that it mattered to him, she could see it. He was hurt. And he had a right to be. She should have found a way to say goodbye to him.

"Yes, it does. I know that it does."

He shrugged, "I got over it."

She sighed, and tugged lightly on his arm, "C'mon."

Of course he had lied to her. She needed to get him out of the bullpen, get him alone so they could really talk.

He followed her out of the bullpen, wondering where she was talking him, and they walked up the stairs to the roof.

"Why are we up here?" he asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"I want to talk to you alone," she answered, "Without people eavesdropping on us."

This was his place. The place where he went when a case got too hard, when he needed to get away, to think. She knew that. So why wouldn't she bring him up here?

"There's nothing to talk about," he told her, walking to the railing and looking out at the city.

She followed him, and was silent for several minutes. There was too much tension between them, she needed to lighten the mood. Finally, she spoke, "Happy birthday."

He turned to her, his brow furrowed, "What?"

Olivia shrugged, "October 20th. Happy birthday."

"Okay… thanks, I guess…" Elliot answered, "That was random."

She chuckled softly, "Of course I wouldn't give up on the opportunity to tease you, old man."

He knew what she was doing. She was trying to distract him; she didn't want to talk about why they were up here.

"How'd it go out there?" he asked softly.

She laughed, "You don't care."

He shrugged, a tiny smile coming across his face, "You're right. I don't."

"Then what do you really want to talk about?" she asked softly, "You want to tell me the truth?"

He shrugged, turning to her, "It did matter. It… it mattered a lot, actually."

"Why?" she asked, although she already knew what he was going to say. _'Because you're my partner'_ or _'Because you're my friend'_. But instead, he said something else.

"Liv… you don't get it, do you? You were only gone for a month and a half, and… I felt like I was dying without you." He didn't know why he was saying this to her. Of course she didn't feel the same as she did, so why was he about to ruin their friendship. But he was past the point of no return. He couldn't turn back now that he had started.

"I worried… every day, about what you were doing, if you were okay. I wished that I had been there with you, so I could protect you. You mean so much to me, Olivia, I…I love you."

Her breathing caught in her chest. She felt like she had died. Did he… did he really just say that? Did he really love her?

He took her silence the wrong way, and he stepped away from her, feeling his cheeks blush as he stared down at the floor, "I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

He took another step back, but she grabbed his hand, pulling him back to her, "El… I love you, too."

His heart stopped, "You do?"

She smiled softly at him, bringing her hand to couch his cheek, "Yeah. I do."

He pulled her closer, leaned into her touch and just stared into her eyes. He couldn't believe that actually loved her.

The same thoughts were floating through her mind. She thought that it was a dream, how could he really lover her? But as she stared back into his deep blue eyes, she knew that this couldn't possibly be a dream. It had to be real.

She leaned closer to him, and he followed suit, letting his lips meet hers. Fireworks exploded between them. His whole body tingled, he felt like he was flying. Both pairs of eyes fluttered closed, and Olivia brought her hand up to press against his chest.

He wanted to kiss her forever, but eventually, they had to stop. He kept his forehead pressed against hers, and they just breathed for several minutes, silent.

"That was…"

"Amazing," he whispered, "It was amazing."

She nodded against him, "Yeah…"

And then their lips were together again. This time, when the broke apart, more happiness than he had ever felt bubbled up inside of him. He lifted her, and spun her around, laughing softly. This was what it was like to really love. She laughed along with him, squeezing his shoulders gently, "El…!"

"I love you, Liv. So much," he whispered as he put her back down, "I missed you."

"I love you, too, El," she answered, running her hand through his hair, pulling his head back down to hers so she could kiss him once again.

"Never leave me like that again," he said, "I don't think I could handle it."

"I won't," she answered, "I promise."

"Good."

When their lips met again, Elliot knew that she was telling the truth. It was all over. She was back home, with him, where she belonged, and now he knew that she felt the same way that he did. And it was worth every minute of those six weeks where she was away from him.

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A/N: Yeah, so the day that Olivia comes back and talks to Cragen really was Elliot's birthday. You can even look at the episode, Underbelly. I thought that was pretty funny. Anyway, please review, and if any of you guys have any other requests, feel free to drop me a PM.


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